Value achieved from time spent at sea is a central driver of fishing decisions and fishing behaviors. Value per unit effort (VPUE) is an important indicator of economic performance in itself and a useful metric within integrated mixed fisheries models. A time series of Irish first sale prices and total per trip landings values (VPT) highlight heterogeneity in fish prices and VPTs achieved by the Irish fleet spatially and temporally, as well as variability with species targeting. This investigation compared models to standardize fishing trip VPUE accounting for species targeting (métier groupings), engine power (a kW proxy for vessel size), seasonal and annual variability, fishing effort, and individual vessels (encompassing variability in vessel characteristics and skipper effects). Linear mixed effects models incorporating random vessel effects and within-group variance between métier groupings performed best at describing the variability in the dataset. All investigated factors were important in explaining variability, and thus important in standardizing VPUE. Models incorporating fishing days (days with reported fishing activity) and engine power as separate variables resulted in improved AIC values. Therefore, fishing days were considered to be the most appropriate effort measure to generate VPUE. The effort unit traditionally applied in measures of per unit effort, fishing hours, performed comparatively poorly in relation to VPT.

The Irish otter trawl fleet operates in a complex multi-species multi-gear fishery, spanning a wide geographic area, and involving around 275 trawlers. Factorial and clustering methods were applied to 2003 fishing trip data to define thirty-three métiers. Definitions were based on six trip characteristics taken from logbooks, namely: fishing gear, mesh size, vessel length, species composition, area, and month. Métiers exploiting demersal species or species groups are characterised by single vessel bottom otter trawls, typically with mesh sizes of 70 mm or more, operating year round. This includes nine Nephrops dominated métiers highlighting the importance of this species to the fleet. Many demersal métiers are characterised by groups of species, such as mixed whitefish or slope species. Métiers exploiting pelagic species are often focussed on single species, and are typically seasonal, mid-water trawling (often paired) with mesh sizes less than 70 mm. Pelagic métiers account for the majority of landings by over an order of magnitude in several cases. Demersal métiers account for the majority of fishing trips and effort, (primarily Nephrops métiers), and vessels (primarily mixed species métiers). The new métier definitions were found to be appropriate remained relevant despite declining fleet landings and effort between 2003 and 2006. Species compositions within these métiers have generally remained similar to the proportions defined in 2003. These robust métier definitions present opportunities to improve fisheries sampling, assessment and management. Although métiers pose complexity challenge for such applications they can be used the building blocks for appropriate management units.

Contemporary genetic structure of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in the River Moy in Ireland is shown here to be strongly related to landscape features and population demographics, with populations being defined largely by their degree of physical isolation and their size. Samples of juvenile salmon were collected from the 17 major spawning areas on the river Moy and from one spawning area in each of five smaller nearby rivers. No temporal allele frequency differences were observed within locations for 12 microsatellite loci, whereas nearly all spatial samples differed significantly suggesting that each was a separate population. Bayesian clustering and landscape genetic analyses suggest that these populations can be combined hierarchically into five genetically informative larger groupings. Lakes were found to be the single most important determinant of the observed population structure. Spawning area size was also an important factor. The salmon population of the closest nearby river resembled genetically the largest Moy population grouping. In addition we showed that anthropogenic influences on spawning habitats, in this case arterial drainage, can affect relationships between populations. Our results show that Atlantic salmon biodiversity can be largely defined by geography and thus knowledge of landscape features (for example, as characterised within Geographical Information Systems) has the potential, to predict population structure in other rivers without an intensive genetic survey, or at least to help direct sampling. This approach of combining genetics and geography, for sampling and in subsequent statistical analyses, has wider application to the investigation of population structure in other freshwater/anadromous fish species and possibly in marine fish and other organisms.

The acid-sensitive upland blanket peat catchments are important habitats for diatom assemblages. In this study, the distribution patterns of epilithic diatom assemblages in the streams of upland forested blanket peat in north-west of Ireland are presented and the associated environmental factors are discussed. A total of 43 sites in 16 rivers were sampled. Multivariate analysis highlighted alkalinity and conductivity as the main physicochemical drivers of riverine diatom assemblages. Contrary to expectations nutrients were not found to have a major influence on the diatoms. A major flood event had a significant impact on the diatom assemblage, and one year after the event, long stalked diatom taxa were still largely absent from the river, indicating that floods could be one of the important factors affecting diatom assemblages. However, the ecological status of the affected sites, as determined by the EQR, did not alter from before to after the flood. The results of this study could be applied to similar acid-sensitive upland peat forest catchments and used as the benchmark to assess the impact of forest operations and peat degradation on ecological status.

Ecological and biogeochemical processes in lakes are strongly dependent upon water temperature. Long-term surface warming of many lakes is unequivocal, but little is known about the comparative magnitude of temperature variation at diel timescales, due to a lack of appropriately resolved data. Here we quantify the pattern and magnitude of diel temperature variability of surface waters using high-frequency data from 100 lakes. We show that the near-surface diel temperature range can be substantial in summer relative to long-term change and, for lakes smaller than 3 km2, increases sharply and predictably with decreasing lake area. Most small lakes included in this study experience average summer diel ranges in their near-surface temperatures of between 4 and 7°C. Large diel temperature fluctuations in the majority of lakes undoubtedly influence their structure, function and role in biogeochemical cycles, but the full implications remain largely unexplored.

The sex ratio in the catches of megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis, Walbaum) varied systematically with depth on three independent trawl survey series off the west coast of Ireland. Female megrim dominated the shallow catches, while males were more common in catches from deeper waters. The size difference between the sexes alone cannot explain this pattern because it remained evident when fish length was taken into account. Therefore size-specific habitat preferences or size-selective fishing mortality cannot fully explain the observed trend in the sex ratio of megrim. Female megrim grow to a larger size, at a faster rate than males and it is likely that their differences in habitat preferences are related to this. Shallower waters are warmer during the growing season and are likely to provide better conditions for fast growth. An understanding of the mechanisms behind these patterns is an important consideration in the management and conservation of this fish stock, which might be particularly vulnerable because the commercial landings are to a large extent dominated by female megrim

The relationship between azaspiracid shellfish poisoning and a small dinoflagellate, Azadinium spinosum, has been shown recently. The organism produces AZA1 and -2, while AZA3 and other analogues are metabolic products formed in shellfish. We evaluated whether mussels were capable of accumulating dissolved AZA1 and -2, and compared the toxin profiles of these mussels at 24 h with profiles of those exposed to live or lysed A. spinosum. We also assessed the possibility of preparative production of AZA metabolites by exposing mussels to semi-purified AZA1.
We exposed mussels to similar concentration of AZAs: dissolved AZA1 + 2 (crude extract) at 7.5 and 0.75 μg L−1, dissolved AZA1+2 (7.5 μg L−1) in combination with Isochrysis affinis galbana, and lysed and live A. spinosum cells at 1 × 105 and 1 × 104 cell mL−1 (containing equivalent amounts of AZA1 + 2). Subsequently, we dissected and analysed digestive glands, gills and remaining flesh. Mussels (whole flesh) accumulated AZAs to levels above the regulatory limit, except at the lower levels of dissolved AZAs. The toxin profile of the mussels varied significantly with treatment. The gills contained 42–46% and the digestive glands 23–24% of the total toxin load using dissolved AZAs, compared to 3–12% and 75–90%, respectively, in mussels exposed to live A. spinosum. Exposure of mussels to semi-purified AZA1 produced the metabolites AZA17 (16.5%) and AZA3 (1.7%) after 4 days of exposure, but the conversion efficiency was too low to justify using this procedure for preparative isolation.

Results are presented of an extensive ichthyoplankton survey that covered the continental slope, the offshore banks and oceanic regions west of Ireland. Oceanographic measurements revealed domes of cold, less saline water over the Porcupine, Rockall and Faroese Banks, constituting Taylor columns. The most species-rich stations were those found on and close to the offshore banks and the shelf edge. Larvae found in these areas were mainly from demersal fish species, including some commercial species such as haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, lemon sole Microstomus kitt (Walbaum, 1792), ling Molva molva (L.) and witch Glyptocephalus cynoglossus (L.). The deep water stations of the Rockall Trough and the north and west stations off the Rockall and Hatton Banks were characterized by a low number of species and high numbers of individuals of mesopelagic species such as Maurolicus muelleri and Benthosema glaciale. Results from multivariate statistical analysis confirmed that species compositions varied significantly at different sites and were related to environmental conditions, whereby sites of similar temperature, salinity and bottom depth harboured similar species assemblages. Generalized additive mixed modelling was used to model the relationship between species richness and environmental variables and confirmed that there was a significant negative relationship between species richness and bottom depth indicating that the offshore banks and the slope stations present favourable habitats for a large number of species.

The control of sea lice infestations on cultivated Atlantic salmon is a major issue in many regions of the world. The numerous drivers which shape the priorities and objectives of the control strategies vary for different regions/jurisdictions. These range from the animal welfare and economic priorities of the producers, to the mitigation of any potential impacts on wild stocks. Veterinary ethics, environmental impacts of therapeutants, and impacts for organic certification of the produce are, amongst others, additional sets of factors which should be considered. Current best practice in both EU and international environmental law advocates a holistic ecosystem approach to assessment of impacts and risks. The issues of biosecurity and ethics, including the impacts on the stocks of species used as cleaner fish, are areas for inclusion in such a holistic ecosystem assessment. The Drivers, Pressures, State, Impacts, Responses (DPSIR) process is examined as a decision-making framework and potential applications to sea lice management are outlined. It is argued that this is required to underpin any integrated sea lice management (ISLM) strategy to balance pressures and outcomes and ensure a holistic approach to managing the issue of sea lice infestations on farmed stock on a medium to long-term basis.

Using high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry the influence of conventional steaming and other heat treatments on the level of azaspiracids, okadaic acid and dinophysistoxin-2 in mussels (Mytilus edulis) was investigated. A prior study looking at the influence of steaming on the concentration and distribution of azaspiracids showed significant increases in concentration as a result. Described is a follow-up study using two separate mussel samples, where the contribution of water loss during steaming to increases of toxin levels was examined.
In addition to water loss it was demonstrated that heating of fresh azaspiracid contaminated mussels resulted in significant increases in the quantity of the desmethyl analogue (azaspiracid-3) measured. A systematic heat treatment experiment confirmed these findings and showed that azaspiracid-3 was the most thermally instable of the three regulated azaspiracid analogues.
In parallel, the same studies were carried out for okadaic acid and dinophysistoxin-2 also naturally present in the samples used. Concentration increases correlated with water loss during steaming. More so than for azaspiracids, increased distribution of okadaic acid and dinophysistoxin-2 from the digestive glands to the remainder tissues was observed as a result of the processes examined. This suggests that analysis of whole flesh tissues, as opposed to dissected digestive glands, is more appropriate for regulatory purposes, particularly if cooked samples are being analysed. The findings of the studies reported here have importance in terms of the methodology applied in regulatory phycotoxin monitoring programmes. Therefore, options for sample pre-treatment are discussed.

For many years, the study of toxic Dinophysis species was primarily restricted to field populations until it was recently demonstrated that some of these organisms can be mixotrophically cultured in the laboratory with the ciliate prey, Myrionecta rubra, which had previously been fed with cryptophytes of the genus Teleaulax and Geminigera. Here we investigated the influence of growth phase and light intensity on the production of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins and pectenotoxins (PTXs) in cultures of Dinophysis acuminata from the northeastern United States. The cell toxin content of okadaic acid (OA), dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1), pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2), and the okadaic acid diol ester (OA-D8) varied significantly with growth phase under all light treatments, at 6 °C. Each toxin quota remained low during middle and late exponential phases, but significantly increased by mid-plateau phase. DTX1 and OA-D8 were variable through plateau phase, while OA and PTX2 significantly decreased as the culture aged. Although maximum toxin content was not achieved until middle plateau phase, the rate of toxin production was generally greatest during exponential growth. The low and relatively constant cellular toxin levels observed during exponential and early-plateau phase indicate a balance between toxin production and growth, whereas in the middle-plateau phase, toxin production continues even though the cells are no longer capable of dividing, leading to higher toxin quotas. Light was required for Dinophysis growth and the production of all toxins, however, there was no significant difference in growth rates or toxin quotas between the higher light treatments ranging from 65 to 300 μmol photons/sq.m/s. These results demonstrate that DSP production in D. acuminate is constitutive, and that specific toxins are differentially produced or accumulated during the cells’ growth phase, possibly in response to changes to their environment.

The combined effects of temperature and salinity on the survival and development of larval and juvenile Palaemon serratus from the west coast of Ireland were investigated. Survival over time was measured at thirty combinations of temperature and salinity ranging from 10–19°C and 9–34‰ in a fully factorial design. Salinity had a stronger influence than temperature on survival at all larval stages except stage V. For juveniles the main effect changed from temperature between 100 and 200 degree days to salinity between 200 and 600 degree days and temperature between 600 and 800 degree days. Estimates of time taken to 50% mortality showed that juveniles tolerated lower salinities for longer periods and exhibited optimal salinity values which were 3% lower than larvae, at temperatures between 10 and 15°C. Larval stage durations were found to be influenced by temperature but not salinity. Comparison with published data suggests that populations of P. serratus have adapted to local conditions of temperature and salinity. The results presented here have practical implications for fisheries assessment and management, as the incorporation of environmental effects into stock–recruitment models can improve their predictive capacity.

Summary
1. Weather-related episodic events are typically unpredictable, and their duration is often short. Abiotic and biological responses are often missed in routine monitoring. These responses are, however, now of particular relevance given projected changes in extreme weather conditions.
2. We present data from high-frequency monitoring stations from lakes in Europe, North America and Asia that illustrate two classes of abiotic effects of weather events: (i) generally short-lived effects of storms on lake thermal structure and (ii) the more prolonged effects of high rainfall events on dissolved organic matter levels and water clarity. We further relate these abiotic effects to changes in dissolved oxygen or in chlorophyll a levels.
3. Three differing causes for weather-related decreases in surface dissolved oxygen levels were observed: (i) entrainment of anoxic water from depth, (ii) reduction in primary productivity and (iii) increased mineralisation of organic carbon delivered from the catchment.
4. The duration of in-lake effects tended to be longer for events driven by weather conditions with a longer return period, that is, conditions that were relatively more severe and less frequent at a site. While the susceptibility of lakes to change was related in part to the severity of the meteorological drivers, the impacts also depended on site-specific factors in some cases.
5. The availability of high-frequency data at these sites provided insight into the capacity of the lakes to absorb current and future pressures. Several of the changes we observed, including increases in carbon availability, decreases in photosynthetically active radiation and increased disturbance, have the capacity to shift lakes towards an increased degree of heterotrophy. The magnitude and direction of any such change will, however, also depend on the magnitude and direction of climate change for a given location and on lake and catchment characteristics.

Documenting establishment and spread of invasive species requires extensive co-ordinated sampling programmes. Identifying the factors promoting or inhibiting local establishment of an invasive species can improve capacity to predict further spread and underpin strategies to limit spread. Here, a structured sampling programme was used to assess the current distribution of feral populations of Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, in Ireland. Sixty-nine sites were sampled using a standardised protocol combining semi-quantitative and quantitative approaches. Sites were chosen to represent variation in proximity to aquaculture and a range of environmental variables. Oyster populations were found at 18 locations, with densities ranging from single individuals to nine individuals per m2. The broad size range of oysters found is indicative of more than one recruitment event. Logistic regression indicated that feral oysters were positively associated with the presence of hard substrata or biogenic reef, long residence times of embayments and large intertidal areas. There was also a tendency for oysters to occur disproportionately in bays with aquaculture, but >500 m from it. Small-scale analysis within sites showed that oysters were almost exclusively attached to hard substrata and mussel shell. The approach taken here provides a rigorous repeatable methodology for future monitoring and a detailed basis for the prediction of further spread.

Demersal fisheries targeting a few high-value species often catch and discard other “non-target” species. It is difficult to quantify the impact of this incidental mortality when population biomass of a non-target species is unknown. We calculate biomass for 14 demersal fish species in ICES Area VIIg (Celtic Sea) by applying species- and length-based catchability corrections to catch records from the Irish Groundfish Survey (IGFS). We then combine these biomass estimates with records of commercial discards (and landings for marketable non-target species) to calculate annual harvesting rates (HR) for each study species. Uncertainty is incorporated into estimates of both biomass and HR. Our survey-based HR estimates for cod and whiting compared well with HR-converted fishing mortality (F) estimates from analytical assessments for these two stocks. Of the non-target species tested, red gurnard (Chelidonichthys cuculus) recorded some annual HRs greater than those for cod or whiting; challenging “Pope's postulate” that F on non-target stocks in an assemblage will not exceed that on target stocks. We relate HR for each species to two corresponding maximum sustainable yield (MSY) reference levels; six non-target species (including three ray species) show annual HRs ≥ HRMSY. This result suggests that it may not be possible to conserve vulnerable non-target species when F is coupled to that of target species. Based on biomass, HR, and HRMSY, we estimate “total allowable catch” for each non-target species.

The potential impact of sea lice infestation on outwardly migrating Atlantic salmon smolts has been investigated by treating populations of ranched salmon, prior to release, with a prophylactic sea lice treatment conferring protection from sea lice infestation, for up to 9 weeks. Established populations of ranched Atlantic salmon with well described rates of return were chosen to investigate the potential contribution of early infestation with the salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis to mortality in Atlantic salmon. Against a backdrop of a declining trend in survival rates of Atlantic salmon many studies are attempting to elucidate potential causes for this decline. Results from this study over a period of 9 years point to infestation with the salmon louse (L. salmonis) as being a minor component of marine mortality in the stocks studied.

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) returns to rivers in Ireland have fallen in the last decade resulting in the dramatic closure or curtailment of tradi- tional fisheries. Concerns that stocks were slow to recover prompted further investigation of all factors believed to impact on salmon. In exam- ining geographic and temporal trends in Atlantic salmon stock abundance at a River Basin Dis- trict level, the effect of salmon aquaculture sites and freshwater habitat quality as potential driv- ers of stock abundance are evaluated. This study found no correlation between the pres- ence of aquaculture and the performance of ad- jacent wild salmon stocks. Freshwater habitat quality was found to have a highly significant correlation with stock status, suggesting that it may be a key driver, implicated in the survival of individual stocks.

In 2009, there were marked changes in Irish demersal fishing effort owing to the implementation of a new cod long-term plan (CLTP). This replaced previous top-down cod recovery plans, first implemented in 2002, that set days-at-sea limits for fishing vessels. The new plan specifies a harvest control rule, annual effort ceilings for EU Member States, and rules for adapting fishing effort. It encourages cod avoidance, but leaves Member States to allocate effort between individual vessels. During 2009, effort was allocated through a series of pilot schemes in Ireland. These can be considered as an evolution towards co-management. Industry and state authorities worked closely together to develop strategies for effort management and cod avoidance. The impact of recent effort-management measures on the Irish fleet, fishery, and métiers affected by the CLTP is evaluated. Vessel movements within and between métiers are described and discussed, and unintended impacts resulting from the implementation of management schemes are highlighted. In future, possible fishers' responses to policy initiatives should be considered prior to implementation to minimize potentially adverse consequences.

It has been demonstrated that polymeric resins can be used as receiving phase in passive samplers designed for the detection of lipophilic marine toxins at sea and was referred to as solid phase adsorption toxin tracking (SPATT). The present study describes the uptake and desorption behaviour of the lipophilic marine toxins okadaic acid (OA) and dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1) from Prorocentrum lima cultures by five styrene—divinylbenzene based polymeric resins Sepabeads® SP850, Sepabeads® SP825L, Amberlite® XAD4, Dowex® Optipore® L-493 and Diaion® HP-20. All resins accumulated OA and DTX1 from the P. lima culture with differences in adsorption rate and equilibrium rate. Following statistical evaluation, HP-20, SP850 and SP825L demonstrated similar adsorption rates. However, possibly due to its larger pore size, the HP-20 did not seem to reach equilibrium within 72h exposure as opposed to the SP850 and SP825L. This was confirmed when the resins were immersed at sea for 1 week on the West Coast of Ireland. Furthermore, this work also presents a simple and efficient extraction method suitable to SPATT samplers exposed to artificial or natural culture media.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins were detected in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) from two harvesting areas, Eyjafjordur on the north coast and Breidafjordur on the west coast of Iceland in 2009. During a bloom of Alexandrium spp. at both locations in June of that year, blue mussels were found to be contaminated with paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), leading to extensive closures of these harvesting sites.
Phytoplankton data taken during this time showed the presence of large numbers of A. tamarense, with smaller numbers of A. ostenfeldii also being detected. Mussel samples were analysed by mouse bioassay (MBA) and liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FLD). Toxicity over 10 times the European Union (EU) regulatory limit was observed in samples from Eyjafjordur while levels over 4 times this limit were detected in samples from Breidafjordur. The toxin profile determined by LC-FLD was found to be composed primarily of the carbamate toxins gonyautoxin-2,3 (GTX-2,3). Saxitoxin (STX) was also detected in all samples analysed and was the second most abundant toxin present. Gonyautoxin-1,4 (GTX-1,4) was detected at lower concentrations in half the samples analysed from both locations. Comparison is made between predicted toxin profiles from these algal species and the toxin profiles determined through LC-FLD analysis.
These results represent the first identification and PST profile determination in shellfish harvested from Icelandic waters.

Export search results

The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different
formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export.
The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.